From the Principal 

Message from the Principal

I hope everyone has recovered from the relentless high temperatures over the long weekend. It was difficult to be productive in that heat so hopefully you had an opportunity to rest and relax.

Ramadan Mubarak to our families who will be observing this special time, beginning on the evening of 9th March. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. 

Happy New Year to our Sikh community, who celebrated this special time on the 14th March. We wish you all the best for the coming year.

Enjoy reading the newsletter.

Harmony Day

Remember to send your child to school in some traditional dress or in a touch of orange, on Friday 22nd March to celebrate Harmony Day. On Harmony Day we recognise and celebrate the rich multiculturalism of our beautiful country. It highlights the importance of being inclusive and respectful so that everyone feels a sense of belonging and safety. We feel very privileged to have such a culturally diverse community and look forward to sharing and learning more about the cultures within our community.

School Council

I am happy to report that we had a good deal of interest from parents wanting to be on our school council. School council plays a very important role in the governance of the school. Council ensures that decisions affecting students are made with the best interests and educational opportunities for the students. I would like to take the opportunity to say a very big thank you to our outgoing parent school councillors, who contributed so much of their time in support of our school. Thank you to Samantha Cleary, Kini Vinayak and Amanda Fortunato, all founding members of our school council.

I am very happy to introduce you to the parent body of our 2024 school council. Please introduce yourself to our council members if you see them out on the grounds, I know that they would love to say hello.

Grounds

You may have noticed that we are adding to our playground in the area where the single portables used to be. After consultation with our Student Action Team, we are putting in 3 cricket batting cages and nets, a giant outdoor chess set and a GAGA pit. Gaga is a fast paced form of handball played in a purpose built court. Our students are very excited with these new additions and the work will be finished in time for the beginning of Term 2.

Learning

I would like to thank everyone who was able to attend our Open Morning and Learning Presentation that was held at the end of February. It was great to share the wonderful teaching and learning that is happening at Gilgai Plains. Communicating what is happening in our classrooms is a priority for us, we know how important the partnership between home and school is for our students. The presentation from the morning was sent home on Compass for parents who were unable to attend. Every newsletter, our teachers communicate the learning that is happening in each year level and each specialist class. Hopefully you have the opportunity to read this important information that outlines what your child is learning at the current time. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and Year 5 students have completed NAPLAN this week. I would like to commend our students on the maturity and responsibility they have shown whilst completing these assessments. NAPLAN is used to monitor and report on student achievement in a consistent way. It is the only national test undertaken by students which can be used to compare literacy and numeracy achievement data across the country. Our teachers have well prepared our students for these assessments and I would like to thank them for their hard work and care, which has certainly supported our children.

Community Picnic

On Friday 1st March we celebrated our Gilgai community with a wonderful picnic. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. It was such a fun night and as teachers, we love to spend time with our families in a more casual and relaxed setting. A very big thank you to Pina La Face, our Community Partnerships Leader for her organisation of the night. 

Upcoming Events

Harmony Day - Friday 22nd March

Assembly - Friday 22nd March

Easter Parade - Thursday 28th March (9.10am)

Last day of term - Thursday 28th March 2.10pm finish

Term 2 starts - All students return Tuesday 16th April

Thank you

Anthea Jamieson

Principal